Press release me, let me go

During Egypts historic uprising in January and February one of the popular chants in places like Tahrir Square was bread, freedom and social justice. Its maybe not as snappy as Maggie, Maggie, Maggie! / Out! Out! Out!, but it neatly...

I was at a music event in east London on Saturday night (watching the rather manic band Atomic Suplex, if you’re interested …) when I starting seeing excited tweets on my phone about how Libyan rebels were closing in on Tripoli. After...

Today marks the fifth year since tragedy struck for thousands of men, women and children living in Ivory Coast. Five years ago, toxic waste was dumped in various locations across Abdijan – Ivory Coast’s commercial capital. One month...

The tragic death of Dale Burns is rightly being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission. I hope – as I’m sure his family and friends also do – that this investigation is thorough and comprehensive and can provide...

I’m just back from Edinburgh’s Venue 150, which tonight will host Amnesty’s Stand Up For Freedom comedy show in front of a sell-out crowd of 1,200 comedy (and hopefully Amnesty) fans at the Edinburgh festival. It starts at 9.30 tonight...

Cluster bombs have been the topic of the day for us today here in the press office. You may have already seen the story running in todays Independent , where we reveal exclusively how some UK high street banks, including the Royal Bank...

I spotted an i nteresting story in The Scotsman this morning (also reported in the Guardian ) about a petrochemical factory in China that is due to be relocated after thousands of local residents marched in protest. A storm caused a...

So, Iran has urged restraint in the policing of the London riots. The jokers. I am surprised they haven't sent an envoy to Amnesty’s Stand up for Freedom gig at The Edinbburgh Festival. And in reply , the UK gov has said to them we...

With unprecedented riots and unrest spreading around England’s towns and cities like wildfire, it’s little wonder that newspapers have limited space for other stories. Which is why I’m not too surprised that the publication of a...

With unprecedented riots and unrest spreading around England’s towns and cities like wildfire, it’s little wonder that newspapers have limited space for other stories. Which is why I’m not too surprised that the publication of a...

Theresa May has (ahem) poured cold water on the idea of water cannon being used to quell the disturbances. Neither do we seem to be looking at the use of rubber bullets, tear gas or the possibility (as called for by my mum on the phone...

I’m up at the Edinburgh Festival for the next two weeks, helping Amnesty promote our work for freedom of expression at the world’s biggest arts festival. Today we launched this year’s Festival Campaign to Free the UAE 5 , five men who...

Following Guido Fawkes’ little blaze (ahem) of publicity with his “bring back hanging” e-petition campaign, there’s been a lot of stuff (including from him) about the supposed “deterrence” of having a noose in the criminal justice...

For a company whose logo is the shell of a giant clam, a marine and freshwater creature millions of years old, it's ironic that Royal Dutch Shell is so cavalier about the pollution of watercourses that its operations frequently cause...

Another stifling midsummer day and another story about Brits abroad. Getting caned. Though this time, this is not a classic binge-drinking Britain story, but a caning of another sort. British businessman Austin Cowburn from Manchester...

Reports that people in the besieged city of Hama in Syria have been burying people in public gardens ought to be a wake-up call. The Guardian’s correspondent in the country says the onslaught on Hama by Syria’s security forces in the...

Anyone who’s seen the horrendous damage done to the face (and other parts of the body) of Ameneh Bahrami in an acid attack in Iran will be appalled. Her assailant, Majid Movahedi, apparently committed this disgusting crime because she...

The tragic murder of the British newlywed couple, Ben and Catherine Mullany, honeymooning on the romantic island of Antigua three years ago, and sent outrage and shock across both islands. Three years on, and news of the conviction of...

We’ve heard little or nothing about Ivory Coast in recent months so you may be forgiven for thinking that the country’s violence is over and Ivory Coast has become a stable cocoa-making, coffee-growing oasis of calm. Unfortunately, and...

Last week I blogged about some grotesque public executions in Iran – “bus hangings” – where three men were put on buses and then hanged from a road bridge. This week it’s a (no-less grotesque) execution in Belarus, two in Gaza and –...